Are the outputs perfectly matched? I.s. Same Db level to within 0.1Db?
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Topping LA90 Review (Integrated Amplifier)
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lordhumungous
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So LA90 is already discontinued?
LA90 and A90 are quite different products
staticV3
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the point is what the A90D is resting on in that pic. Most likely the next generation LA90.
This is Fiio K9 Pro dac/headphone amp. This picture is rather pointless and strange.
I think their marketing content creator could have put a bit more work here...
staticV3
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got me there lol, and I thought Topping were teasing an upcoming product
Next generation LA90 with no heatsinks and a balanced headphone out? Nah.
Bogda
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LA90 measures amazing but I have a few doubts about its thermal design and some other comments:
1) How functional are the two heat-sinks? They look very badly designed with horizontal fins and very small gap between them. How much air is actually circulating through those gaps?
2) If you put those two amps next to one another, in bridged mode, with preamp/DAC on top of them, like in a pictures, you will get even worse cooling
3) Such a small box for an AB class amp??? Why? It looks they cared more about the design than performance.
4) What is the point of special connectors on the back?... so I have to buy their custom cables???
5) For a company that praises itself for its superior technological prowess, cleanest sound, ultra low THD+N ("lowest noise of existing power amplifiers") etc, stating the power at 10% THD+N is kind of funny?
1) How functional are the two heat-sinks? They look very badly designed with horizontal fins and very small gap between them. How much air is actually circulating through those gaps?
2) If you put those two amps next to one another, in bridged mode, with preamp/DAC on top of them, like in a pictures, you will get even worse cooling
3) Such a small box for an AB class amp??? Why? It looks they cared more about the design than performance.
4) What is the point of special connectors on the back?... so I have to buy their custom cables???
5) For a company that praises itself for its superior technological prowess, cleanest sound, ultra low THD+N ("lowest noise of existing power amplifiers") etc, stating the power at 10% THD+N is kind of funny?
lordhumungous
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I’m more worried about spending almost 1k on a brand that has had reliability problems . I’ve had problems with their products
staticV3
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What special connectors?
Those are regular XLR and 1/4" combo jacks. You can find them on loads of studio equipment. Normal XLR cables will work just fine.
Last edited:
Bogda
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I can see now,
did not pay too much attention and did not have a chance to use combo connectors.
Fedpul
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Hi, I have recently bought a Topping LA90. I am using it with my RME ADI 2 DAC and a pair of recently acquired Focal Aria 926. I would like to know a technical aspect I can't find anywhere else:
The RME ADI 2 DAC has an output level of 6.9V at 0dB using XLR (+19 dBu). I saw in Topping LA90 specs that in low gain the input sensitivity is exactly that much voltage. I would like to know if that spec of input sensitivity is for max output (63 W @ 8 ohms) or output with low distortion (36/40 W @ 8 ohms).
If it is the spec for max output before clipping, then -3 dB should be my max volume at the ADI 2 DAC, if not I could reach 0 dB without worrying about damaging the tweeters with distortion.
Thanks in advance!
The RME ADI 2 DAC has an output level of 6.9V at 0dB using XLR (+19 dBu). I saw in Topping LA90 specs that in low gain the input sensitivity is exactly that much voltage. I would like to know if that spec of input sensitivity is for max output (63 W @ 8 ohms) or output with low distortion (36/40 W @ 8 ohms).
If it is the spec for max output before clipping, then -3 dB should be my max volume at the ADI 2 DAC, if not I could reach 0 dB without worrying about damaging the tweeters with distortion.
Thanks in advance!
Low gain in the LA90 is given as 9.5dB - that is a multiple of 2.99
So your 6.9V gets amplified to 20.6V
That is 53W into 8 ohm. So the power rating at 1%THD. Not an issue for your tweeters.
Last edited:
AndreaT
Addicted to Fun and Learning
I cannot wait to see the new Hypex Nilai500 diy stereo kit that sells for less than two LA90. Yes, it is not an integrated amp, however with many DACs you have a volume control and multiple inputs: in a digital system they functionally become a preamp. It should offer more power and similar low noise and low distortion.
Fedpul
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Thanks a lot for the info!
Could you please point me to a thread or calculator where I could learn the math behind?
staticV3
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Fedpul
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Thanks a lot!
I have added columns T/U/V with my calculations based on the input voltage per ADI 2 DAC volume (original file is not mine, no intention to take any credits).
If I did the math wrong please feel free to tell me!
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